Saturday, June 30, 2012

At
this point of rapid deterioration in relations between China and the
Philippines, it really is best for the Noynoy government not to ratchet
up already dangerous tensions, because the reality is that the
Philippines is no match militarily of giant China.

This is not to say
that being a weak opponent of China that the government simply lets
China have its way over the disputed islands and give up our sovereignty
claims. This is merely to state that it would be more prudent for
Noynoy and his administration to adopt a low keyed position on this
issue and not come up with situations that may be seen by China as a
provocation.

A case in point is the publicized opening of a
kindergarten school in the Spratlys by a local government official,
after which Noynoy and his aides quickly retorted that there is no
reason a school cannot be made to exist in the disputed island, as there
has existed, for many years, if not decades, residents in that disputed
area. Peace was there all the time between China and the Philippines.
And then came again the Palace statements on Philippine sovereignty.

Due
to the publicity generated by the kindergarten school opening in the
disputed island, and the statements from the Palace justifying it, as
well as the high-keyed docking of the US nuclear submarine, China
reacted by reportedly deploying “combat ready” patrols to Spratlys,
saying this is being done to protect China’s interests, so said the
Chinese Defense Ministry..... MORE

Koko Pimentel
did the predictable. He announced he would be leaving the United
Nationalist Alliance, giving the usual reason of the impossibility of
his joining UNA as long as his foe, former Sen. Migz Zubiri, is on the
same senatorial slate.

But he also said that he is not leaving the
PDP-Laban coalition and will run as a PDP candidate under a party that
will adopt him, which is, just as predictably, the Liberal Party (LP) of
Noynoy Aquino, where he says he can campaign “happy.”

He also claims that he had to leave UNA on account of a principled stand.

Still,
Pimentel may not have it all, given a few technical problems, should he
insist on running as a PDP-Laban senatorial candidate under the LP,
since party-coalition certifications have to come from UNA, which has
been approved by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Koko may not be
able to run as a PDP-Laban candidate under the LP slate, although there
is hardly any question that he can, even if he brands himself as an
“independent” still be part of the LP slate..... MORE

Turkey is paving the way for possible
action by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Syria, using
the case of the recent downing of a Turkish military aircraft by
artillery from Syrian air defense, as reflected in a report recently
published by Voice of Russia.

According to that report, the Turkish government is using this opportunity to agitate for military intervention in Syria.

The report also has argued that western governments are preparing for
an operation inside Syria, similar to that carried out in Libya, without
waiting for a resolution of the Security Council of the United Nations
Organization (UNSC) on military intervention in the Arab country..... MORESource: Pravda.ru

In a last minute call, the White House spares Beijing and Singapore
of financial penalties under Iran oil sanctions. The US says the two
countries have “significantly reduced” their purchases of the Persian
country’s crude.

­“Today, I’ve made the determination that two additional
countries, China and Singapore, have significantly reduced their volume
of crude oil purchases from Iran,” US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton said on Thursday – the day the US sanctions against Iran and its
customers took legal effect.

The sanctions, which deny
access to US banking systems for Tehran’s oil customers, will no longer
apply to China’s and Singapore’s “financial institutions for a potentially renewable period of 180 days,” Hillary Clinton added. ..... MORESource: RT.com

A US air force investigation has identified 31 female cadets who were
sexually assaulted by their trainers at a Texas military camp. The
scandal has raised concerns that the US armed forces are not doing
enough to protect women in the military.

An internal probe is currently looking at 12 male military
instructors that were serving at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio,
Texas. Six of them face charges of misconduct, including allegations of
rape and adultery.

The majority of those under investigation were
from the 331st training squadron, whose commander was dismissed from
duty last week. He was not charged with sex crimes but was relieved
because of the unacceptable level of misconduct in his unit..... MORE

China vows to oppose military provocation in Spratlys; other Chinese claimed islands

China
said Thursday it would resolutely oppose any military provocation in
its territorial waters, remarks which appeared to be directed at the
United States, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Relations between China
and the Philippines have deteriorated over a two-month stand-off over
sovereignty issues on Scarbourgh Shoal while China’s foreign ministry
said its military will be setting up what China called a “normal,
combat-ready patrol system in seas under (its) control.”

Currently,
in Scarborough Shoal, Philippine vessels are gone, while some 28 Chinese
vessels composed of small fishing vessels and Chinese government ships
stayed on.

With the departure of two Philippine boats, China hinted broadly at its control over the shoal.

China’s
military has established routine naval patrols in the South China Sea,
“indisputable territory” of the nation and a matter of “national
sovereignty,” defense ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said..... MORE

San
Miguel Corp. Chairman and CEO Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr.
yesterday announced he was assigning his 11 percent stake in the
diversifying conglomerate to President and COO Ramon Ang, who was
described by Cojuangco as “a person in whom I have full trust and
confidence and rightfully deserves utmost recognition for transforming
the Company into a highly diversified and profitable business
conglomerate.”

The shares were granted to Top Frontier via an Option
Agreement to purchase in 2009. However, TF decided to only partially
exercise the option.

“Mr. Cojuangco offered the balance of the Option
shares to me and I accepted primarily for the following reasons: the
San Miguel vision set by management during my term is far from being
achieved, and; I have a continuing commitment to ECJ, the company’s
stakeholders and the employees to see through the realization of this
vision in the near future,” Ang said..... MORE

Acting
Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, seen as the frontrunner in the race for
the highest judicial post and who many believe will be the chosen one of
President Aquino, is accepting his nomination made automatically by the
Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).

“I will not turn down any chance or
opportunity to lead the judiciary if given the opportunity,” he told
reporters at a lawyers convention in Clark, Pampanga.“It’s part of my
work. There’s no reason for me to depart from my work,” he added.

Carpio,
however, turned down his automatic nomination in 2010 for the the post
of Chief Justice, following the retirement of then Chief Justice Reynato
Puno.

It was then speculated that Carpio had declined the nomination
because he knew he would not be appointed by Arroyo with whom he and
the law firm identified with him had a falling out.

Renato Corona was appointed chief justice by then President Gloria Arroyo. .... MORE

On
the eve of President Aquino’s second year in power, students, young
teachers, church and community youth united to condemn the government’s
K+12 program.

At a forum held Friday at the Philippine Normal
University (PNU), a state-run institution which drafted some parts of
what the protesters claimed was the “anti-nationalist and colonial” K
+12 curriculum, youth groups pledged to stop Aquino’s flagship education
program.

The K+12, implemented by the Department of Education
despite the absence of an enabling law and overruling the current
mandatory 10-year education cycle, is expected to be railroaded by
Congress upon its resumption of sessions on July 23..... MORE

The
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is adopting a policy that
will require visiting journalists, especially foreigners, to be secured
by Filipino policemen or soldiers while on a news coverage or when
visiting the ARMM.

This was announced last Tuesday by ARMM
Officer-in-Charge Gov. Mujiv Hataman, who said the policy was aimed at
preventing a repeat of the incident involving a Jordanian journalist and
two Filipino crewmen.

Jordanian Baker Atyani, 43, the Southeast
Asia bureau chief of Al Arabiya News Channel, Rolando Letrero, 22, an
audioman, and photographer Ramelito Vela, 39, were reported missing
after they left the Sulu State College Hostel last June 12 and failed to
return since then.

The authorities later learned that they went to
the hinterlands of Sulu province to interview Abu Sayyaf Group leaders
and were no longer allowed to leave the bandits’ camp..... MORE

A
barangay chairman in Muslim Community in Quiapo, Manila was gunned down
the other night by two unidentified assassins inside his own residence.

Police
identified the victim as Sainal Shariff Pararanam, 56, a native of
Masin, Lanao del Sur and a resident of 817 Globo de Oro corner Bautista
Street in Quiapo. He was hit in the head when one of the two suspects
fired at him while he was watching television with his wife.

Senior
Insp. Joey de Ocampo, chief of the Manila Police District (MPD) homicide
section, said the suspects fled the scene on board a motorcycle after
the shooting that took place at around 8:30 p.m. He was pronounced dead
from two bullet wounds in the head and two in the body at 9:36 p.m.

Initial investigation showed the victim was quietly watching
television when the suspects arrived and parked their motorcycle in
front of the chairman’s house..... MORE

President
Aquino, who will be celebrating today his second anniversary at
Malacañang, had unexpected and certainly unwelcome visitors as among his
early well-wishers.

Close to 200 militant activists stormed the
Mendiola Bridge near Malacañang Palace not to congratulate Aquino but to
nag him on grievances that marred his first two years as President.

The
protesters who claimed to be members of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan,
said there hasn’t been any change under the Aquino presidency.

Overzealous
security measures were put in place at the Malacañang vicinity, with
members of the Manila Police District guarding Mendiola Bridge and other
entry points leading to the Palace while the Presidential Security
Group secured the Palace perimeters..... MORE

Friday, June 29, 2012

On
April 5, 2010, WikiLeaks released a classified US military video of
three air strikes from a US Apache helicopter last July 12, 2007 in New
Baghdad, Iraq. Eighteen people were killed, including two journalists
working for Reuters, Saeed Chmagh and Namir Noor-Eldeen, while two
children were wounded in an incoming private van that was going to
rescue one of the reporters before it was fired upon.

We know of the
children because the video that showed US ground troops arriving at the
area — recorded by the gunsight camera on the Apache helicopter,
Crazyhorse 18 — had a soldier “running as he (carried) one of the
children wounded in the attack on the van.”

Thanks to YouTube,
millions of global citizens laid witness to those gruesome events. But
had it not been for Private Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old
intelligence analyst with the US Army in Baghdad who allegedly passed on
the material to WikiLeaks, the world might still have not had any
inkling of the atrocities that transpired on that fateful day.

Manning was arrested in May 2010 in Iraq on suspicion of passing
classified materials to the whistleblower Web site, then charged with
communicating national defense information to an unauthorized source and
aiding the enemy — all of which could result in lifetime imprisonment.

Meanwhile,
the other figure in this controversy, Julian Paul Assange (aged 42
today), is an Australian computer programmer, Internet political
activist, publisher, and journalist, best known as the founder and
editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, a Web site that publishes information from
whistle-blowers everywhere.

A hacker-activist in his youth, Assange
has garnered numerous awards and nominations, including the 2009 Amnesty
International Media Award, the 2010 Readers’ Choice for Time’s Person
of the Year, the 2011 Sydney Peace Foundation gold medal, the 2011
Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, and a nod for the 2011 Nobel Peace
Prize. Fearing the accolades were a build-up for another “useful
idiot,” I kept quiet about him; now, I’m convinced he is genuine.

In
2010, a European arrest warrant was issued for Assange on what appeared
to be trumped-up charges of rape and sexual assault. He was later
arrested in the UK and freed on bail after 10 days. On May 30 of this
year, Assange lost his Supreme Court appeal to prevent extradition to
Sweden. Then on June 19, Assange entered the Ecuadorian embassy in
London, where he sought political asylum on the basis of political
persecution. Ecuador granted him temporary protection pending
deliberations by the Ecuadorean parliament.

Just before his asylum
bid and while serving house arrest in the UK, Assange had around half a
dozen episodes of his own talk show beamed over Russia Today (seen here
on Destiny Cable Channel 86). Every episode and interview I had the
chance to follow was always interesting and in-depth; the last one with
Imran Khan of Pakistan was no exception as it exposed the US as well as
the Pakistani ruling class’ corrupt politics.
The work and sacrifice
of these two heroes, at a time when US imperialism is at its apogee,
highlights the power of truth and modern information or — to borrow from
another Internet dissident Alex Jones — the “Information War.” This
“Infowar” is one that will rouse the world against the US war industry
and its controlled war-coddling mainstream media all over the world.

Indeed,
these are the people who deserve all the international peace and
democracy awards (except for the debased Nobel Peace Prize after it was
bestowed to a mother-and-child killer in the White House, now infamous
for his unmanned drone terrorism all over the world).

Sadly, there is
no clamor yet in the Philippines for the kind of heroism of these two
whistleblower-warriors for truth and global transparency. This is
perhaps because a lot of column inches are being devoted to certain
darlings of Western “human rights” advocates such as Aung San Suu Kyi.

Our
Tribune colleague, Ken Fuller, wrote in “A rendezvous with
disappointment” a good assessment of Suu Kyi and with apologies I
summarize: “US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew in and… met Aung
Sang Suu Kyi for talks… Then, on April 13, following the NLD (Suu Kyi’s
National League for Democracy) by-election victories, in came UK Prime
Minister David Cameron… What is happening here… is that Western leaders…
are now hurrying to secure a place at the head of the line… Surely Aung
San Suu Kyi would not allow them to pillage her country?… (But as) we
get to socio-economic questions… what will the economy look like? Will
Myanmar attempt to industrialize? What will be the balance between
public and private, local and foreign enterprise?… voters were told that
the NLD would ‘focus on seeking necessary international assistance for
development of the nation,’ and that ‘it is required to make a shift to
market economy with a right balance between freedom, stability and
social justice, based on the rule of law.’ So, there will be a market
economy. But that is not all. ‘It is required to closely cooperate with
the International Monetary Fund…’”

Last week in Oslo, Suu Kyi
personally received the Nobel Peace honor bestowed on her 21 years ago,
getting “two standing ovations as she gave her long-delayed acceptance
speech.” Before the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the King and Queen of
Norway, and about 600 dignitaries, “The 66-year-old champion of
political freedom praised the power of her 1991 Nobel honor both for
saving her from the depths of personal despair and shining an enduring
spotlight on injustices in distant Burma.”

But I wonder,
notwithstanding the fact that Myanmar has never invaded other lands,
what has Suu Kyi really said and done about Western imperialism and its
heinous cruelties all over the world? Hasn’t she merely epitomized the
hypocrisy of the West by serving as “human rights” leverage against
struggling Asian and African nations?

Indeed, placing her side-by-side with the heroic Manning and Assange only reveals who the real glove-puppet of the West is.

What
else but the word Noynoying exactly defines what Noynoy is doing
regarding the Chinese presence in Scarborough Shoal despite that which
his administration had claimed earlier as a mutual agreement reached
between the sides of the Philippines and China to withdraw from the area
as a means of de-escalating the conflict.

Last June 18, Noynoy
ordered Philippine ships to abandon the shoal. He later claimed that he
had ordered the pullout from the area to prevent the lives of government
personnel from being placed in danger as a result of typhoon Butchoy
then.

Strangely, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued a
different line, saying that China and the Philippines have mutually
agreed to disengage from the face off and leave the shoal area.

Either
there was no agreement and the DFA is lying or China did not recognize
the supposed agreement because instead of leaving the area, more Chinese
ships were deployed around the disputed area while the Chinese
government did not mention anything about an agreement that will require
the recalling of its state-owned vessels while at the same time issuing
a statement short of thanking Noynoy for “withdrawing” Philippine
vessels — a statement that, in effect it said had reduced the tension in
the area..... MORE

During
Gloria Arroyo’s term as the Malacañang tenant, Noynoy, then a senator,
said it was wrong for a president to reappoint her nominees who have
been bypassed by the bicameral Commission on Appointments (CA).

He
even sponsored a bill to make it law, and was also pretty strict in
saying that after two bypasses of the CA, the confirming power, the
President, should no longer reappoint the bypassed nominee in the event
Congress adjourns.

During the 14th Congress, then Senator Aquino
filed Senate Bill 1719 entitled “An Act Limiting the Reappointment of
Presidential Nominees Bypassed by the Commission on Appointments,”
saying that “Arroyo abused her power to reappoint her bypassed Cabinet
secretaries because of her consistent reappointment of her nominees who
have been consecutively bypassed by the Commission on Appointments.”.... MORE

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said that he rejects the British
police’s request to hand himself in and will remain in the Ecuadorean
embassy and continue his appeal for asylum on grounds of political
persecution.

­Earlier on Thursday, police issued an order for Assange to appear at a police station to begin the extradition process.

The letter from the Metropolitan Police sent to the Ecuadorian Embassy said it "requires him to attend
a police station at a date and time of our choosing. This is standard
practice in extradition cases and is the first step in the removal
process.".... MORE

A strangely-shaped object at the bottom of the Baltic Sea has been
interfering with the electrical devices of the Swedish diving team that
is trying to film it. But critics are growing more skeptical about the
long-running mystery.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, 17 JUNE 2012 – The call, “Defend our
inherent right to self-determination!” was resounded by 500 indigenous
leaders, representatives, and advocates from different countries
participating in the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Territories,
Rights and Sustainable Development, also known as Kari-Oca II, here
from June 14-22 at Jacarepagu, Brazil.

“Indigenous peoples all over the world share a common struggle and
aspiration – self-determination or our inherent and collective right as
distinct peoples to freely determine our economic and social development
and freely determine our political status.

Twenty years after the UN Conference on Environment in 1992, the
indigenous peoples’ struggle for self-determined development is not only
continuing but was heightened by the current global capitalist system
that is gripping the world today,” CPA Chairperson Windel Bolinget said
as he addressed the conference on June 17.

Kari-Oca II began June 14 with a traditional Terena ritual to welcome
participants and to pray for a productive exchange and learning during
the nine-day gathering of indigenous peoples from all over the world.
After the opening program were discourses on indigenous peoples’
struggles, the worsening violations against indigenous peoples’ rights
to territories and resources, environmental destruction, commodification
of nature and indigenous peoples struggles for self-determination.

“As experienced by our fellow indigenous peoples here in Latin
America and around the globe, corporate greed and State repression with
impunity continue to heighten the violations of our right to
self-determination in the Philippines and the rest of Asia where I come
from. We are struggling against widespread militarization; plunder of
our resources through mining, geothermal projects, and large
hydroelectric dams; and violations of our right to Free, Prior and
Informed Consent,” said Bolinget.

Kari-Oca II is a global indigenous peoples’ activity held
simultaneously with the UN Conference on Sustainable Development from
June 19-21. From the sharing of experiences on global indigenous
peoples’ issues and concerns, Kari-Oca II drew up a declaration on the
struggles of indigenous peoples and the major themes of the UNCSD –
Green Economy in the Context of Sustainable Development and Poverty
Eradication, and “Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development”.
The declaration is to be submitted to the UNCSD..... MORE

“When we were in the barangay hall, we were told by the barangay ex-o
to undress to see if we have tattoos. When we were already undressed he
electrocuted us.”By ANNE MARXZE D. UMILBulatlat.com

MANILA – It was just an ordinary Saturday, June 23, for Ruel, 16;
Eduard, 15; Miguel, 13 and Mar, 12 (not their real names). They were
looking for junk to recycle and sell when a barangay official
arbitrarily arrested them in barangay Marilag in Project 4, Quezon City.
The barangay executive officer accused them of stealing a bike in the
said village. The young boys later said they were electrocuted and
humiliated, a grave violation of children’s rights.

The barangay executive officer identified as Meniteryo Endozo denied
the allegation and said that the boys were notorious thieves. He said
the young boys were frequently seen in the village and residents
reported incidents of robbery. However, Miguel said, Mar’s school is
just nearby and they often play in the village.
The children remember their ordeal vividly. “Ex-o (executive officer)
electrocuted us using a stun gun. He even threatened us that we would
never see our parents again if he sees us again here in barangay
Marilag,” Miguel said.

Alleged torture

Meniteryo
Endozo, barangay executive officer of barangay Marilag in Quezon City
was accused of torturing four children last June 23. News reports as of
June 27 said he was already suspended from his post. (Photo by Anne Marxze D. Umil / Bulatlat.com)

“When we were in the barangay hall, we were told by the barangay ex-o
to undress to see if we have tattoos. When we were already undressed he
electrocuted us,” Miguel told Bulatlat.com.

He added that he and Mar was told to clean the comfort room of the
barangay hall and while doing the cleaning, Endozo once again
electrocuted them. Ruel and Eduard were told to sweep the premises of
the barangay hall.

Miguel said he saw Endozo hit Ruel at the stomach and was repeatedly
electrocuted. “He saw a policeman in the premises of the barangay hall
and complained but the policeman threatened them instead and even
participated in torturing them,” he said.

Eduard said the policeman took the magazine out of his firearm,
removed some bullets and put some in between Ruel’s fingers and pressed
it in front of them. The children were not able to identify the said
policeman. He also said Endozo also threw a lighted cigarette butt at
Ruel’s back..... MORE

Despite
the current automated election law that requires a voter’s receipt,
Commission on Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes appears bent on
defying the law, as it was the Comelec that instructed Smartmatic not
include voters’ receipts in the precinct count optical scan (PCOS)
machines.

Smartmatic Asia president Cesar Flores, whose PCOS machines
are to again be used for the 2013 elections said his machines can
produce receipts but explained that it is the Comelec that does not want
that function used.

Brillantes claimed that this receipt function is
not necessary since past elections, done manually, did not require it
and that receipt of voters will merely be used for vote-buying.

Apparently,
the Comelec will again defy the automated law and do what it wants to
do by way of discarding machine functions the poll commissioners want
discarded..... MORE

Sen.
Miriam Defensor-Santiago wants to abolish the Judicial and Bar Council
(JBC) because she thinks it has failed to fulfill its mandate.

In an
interview after her speech at the Credit Manage-ment Association of the
Philippines, the senator ex-pressed dissatisfaction with the JBC which
is responsible for creat-ing a shortlist of nominees for the highest
position in the Supreme Court vacated by former Chief Justice Renato
Corona.

Santiago noted that the JBC was created to prevent politics
from penetrating the high court which she said has not been prevented.
Now that the process has been politicized, “I think they should turn
that power to the Senate as they do in the United States,” the senator
stressed.

“So I think we have experimented enough with the JBC that we have to abolish it in the Constitution,” Santiago added..... MORE

Sen.
Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel yesterday announced his withdrawal from the
senatorial slate of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and declared
that he is open for “adoption” by everybody, including the coalition
that his party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban)
formed with Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) of former President Joseph
Estrada.

But UNA is not likely to adopt Pimentel, even as UNA leaders all said that they respect his decision to leave UNA.

The
Liberal Party, however, has welcomed Pimentel with open arms, with
party leaders saying that he is a shoo-in for inclusion in the LP
senatorial slate.

But even as he has distanced himself from UNA,
Pimentel clarified that this move does not mean that he is completely
severing his party’s ties with PMP in UNA, saying that it only concerns
him and not the entire PDP-Laban where he is the current president..... MORE

Hundreds
of Filipino and American sailors, along with seven combined ships from
the two militaries, are participating in next week’s annual RP-US
Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat) 2012 on the Mindanao
Sea.

Philippine Navy (PN) spokesman Col. Omar Tonsay said 400 PN
personnel and three ships are complementing the 350 US Navy servicemen
during the Carat exercises which starts on July 2 in General Santos
City. The Carat 2010 will run up to July 10.

The US Navy will be using two ships during the exercises.

Also
participating in this year’s Carat are 50 Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)
men on a PCG ship and 150 US Coast Guard men on one of their vessels.

Tonsay said this was the first time that both PN and PCG personnel will be jointly training with their US counterparts..... MORE

Malacañang
would not allow itself to take all the blame for the killing of
prosecution witnesses in the Maguindanao massacre case that saw 58
casualties, 32 of them local journalists.

At a press briefing,
presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said all the four witnesses who
were killed in separate instances had “politely declined” government’s
offer of security.

As though to clear the government of any liability
for the death of the fourth would-be-witness against the Ampatuan
family of Maguindanao, Lacierda urged the remaining witnesses in the
2009 carnage to reconsider the security and protection the government
had offered to them.

He said it was “unfortunate” that the witnesses
who refused government protection were being murdered one after the
other. “We will again offer them security. We do not want their lives
threatened, or in this case, terminated,” the presidential spokesman
said..... MORE

The
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday filed before the
Department of Justice (DoJ) frustrated murder and illegal possession of
firearms charges against former NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula and 12
others.

The NBI, which is the Philippines’ premier investigating body, is an attached agency of the DoJ.

They were all charged with
frustrated murder with treachery, evident premeditation and use of
illegal firearms in connection with the ambush staged last February
against NBI Deputy Director Reynaldo Esmeralda in Paco, Manila..... MORE

The
Bureau of Immigration is investigating the case of 19 overseas Filipino
workers (OFWs) disguised as members of a religious group who were
intercepted by immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport (NAIA) last May while trying to leave for Italy and South Korea.

Immigration
Commissioner Ricardo David said on May 16 the human trafficking
victims were disguised as members of a religious group who claimed that
they were invited to attend the 7th World Families Meeting in Milan,
Italy, a triennial international event hosted by the Vatican.

Another
group of eight OFWs were intercepted on May 28. They pretended to be
tourists when actually their purpose in leaving was to work abroad.

David
said the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) is now
probing the case of the 19 undocumented OFWs after they were barred
from leaving the country..... MORE

An
official of the Caloocan City government was shot dead by three
motorcycle-riding men while his physician-wife was seriously wounded
yesterday morning in Barangay Bagumbong.

This as Mayor Enrico “Recom”
Echiverri, after learning of the incident, put up P200,000 cash reward
for anyone who can provide the police vital information, especially on
the whereabouts of the three attackers.

Senior Supt. Jude Wilson
Santos, police chief, said he immediately dispatched a special crack
team to go after the three gunmen who shot and killed Bobby Merrera, the
officer-in-charge of the city’s Environmental Sanitation Services (ESS)
at Caloocan City Hall North.

Quoting an initial report, Santos said
the victim already expired before he could reach a nearby hospital due
to gunshot wounds in different parts of the body..... MORE

The eight-day mission, which started June 25, aims to document human
rights violations allegedly perpetrated by state security forces in 22
towns of South Quezon and to provide relief operations, a medical
mission, psychosocial activities, ecumenical services, human rights
seminars, among others.

Deployed in South Quezon are 4,000 troops from eight battalions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

At around 2:30 p.m. of June 26, the 17-vehicle caravan was halted
after three of jeepneys had flat tires.

Metal spikes were scattered on
the road at Malaahos village, Catanauan, about a hundred meters away
from the Army’s 76th Infantry Battalion camp.

One of the posters found all over the towns of Bondoc Peninsula.(Photo courtesy of Save Bondoc Peninsula Movement/ bulatlat.com)

Smear campaign posters and streamers against Karapatan, one of the
conveners of the Save Bondoc Peninsula Movement, were also conspicuously
posted in public places in the towns of Bondoc Peninsula. The materials
maliciously link the volunteers and participants of the relief and
medical mission to the New People’s Army (NPA), armed wing of the
Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

“It clearly shows the brazenness of the military. They were ready to
do anything to sabotage our caravan. It is a good thing that no untoward
accident resulted from their foul play,” Orly Marcellana, spokesman of
the Save Bondoc Peninsula Movement said in a statement.

Upon arriving at Talisay village in San Andres town, the mission chanced upon a meeting facilitated by the military..... MORE

Noynoy’s government, more specifically, his administration is a big, big joke but one that doesn’t make Filipinos laugh.

There
doesn’t seem to be any coordination or even communications among the
officials of his government — including Noynoy and his spokesmen, as
clearly, Malacañang and its aides have turned itself into a virtual
Tower of Babel, where everyone talks but nobody seems to understand what
the other is saying, or has said.

If one still remembers the
biblical account taken from the Book of Genesis, following the Great
Flood, generations upon generations spoke only one language which was
naturally understood by all — until they decided to build a tower
reaching the heavens, but God saw what they did and went down to earth
to confound their speech, scattering the people and confused their
languages, leaving Babel because God confounded the language of all the
Earth.

The difference of course is that even as Malacañang and
Noynoy are supposed to speak the same language, Noy and his officials
prefer to cling to babbling Babel, confusing and confounding the
Filipino people and even other peoples of the world..... MORE

There
seems to be a cover-up of sorts over the Bolinao incident, where it was
first reported by government authorities that a Chinese cargo ship
rammed a Philippine fishing boat at high seas and didn’t even stop to
rescue the fishermen.

China immediately reacted, saying there are no
reports from its side that a Chinese vessel collided with a small
fishing boat along the waters of Bolinao.

Shortly after, government
authorities announced that it wasn’t a Chinese ship but a Hong
Kong-registered cargo ship. M/V Peach Mountain that rammed the small
fishing boat and left the Filipino fishermen at sea without even helping
them.

Noynoy, through his spokesmen, quickly vowed to have Peach
Mountain charged for violating the law of the sea, related to ships’
refusal to help fishermen in distress..... MORE

The map is from June 25, 2012. The green
flags show Jamahiriya-held areas, the flames show combats with the
NATO-backed NTC terrorists, the rats show terrorist-controlled areas and
the bombs denote NATO terrorist attacks against Libyan patriot forces
defending their country from this scourge. Let us take a look at NATO's
Libya.

At the beginning of 2011, Libya had the
highest human development indices in Africa, one of its highest literacy
rates, education was available to all for free, housing was provided to
all for free, transportation was subsidised, food was distributed for
free. Communities regulated themselves through the Jamahiriya system,
self-governance through People's Congresses. These Congresses basically
met and decided what they needed and the Government provided it.

Enter the FUKUS-Axis (France, UK, US)
coveting Libya's vast sovereign fund, Libya's vast energy resources and
standing against Colonel Gaddafi's vast humanitarian projects in Africa,
for which he was to receive a special humanitarian prize from the UNO
and which also denied the FUKUS Axis' banking, arms, telecoms and other
business lobbies billions of dollars in revenue from loans made to
corrupted officials across Africa..... MORE

Shocking images have surfaced, revealing the alleged desecration of
Christian churches in Syria by Western-backed rebels. The pictures,
taken by local Christians outraged at the violence, were published by
PrisonPlanet.com.

In one of the photos a man who is said to be a member of the Free
Syrian Army poses in a stolen priest’s robe while brandishing a looted
cross in one hand and a machine gun in the other.

The photos were
taken by a Christian woman in Homs, one of the cities most devastated by
continued violent clashes between rebels and government forces.... MORESource: RT.com

Finally,
a recipe for resurrecting the dead has been perfected. And it had been
done by no less than a government agency of the Philippines, the Land
Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFR).

Surprisingly,
the formula it concocted was so simple but had eluded everyone. All it
had to do was to exhume a 20-year old dead franchise, have it awarded to
a union and find a willing buyer. And there, you have a zombie bus
company!

No wonder Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone calls it the LTFRB’s own palusot.

Evardone
said the LTBRB’s decision to allow the sale of the expired Certificates
of Public Convenience of the Pantranco North Express Inc. defies logic
as the agency had for 20 years denied any application to have it
extended, rendering the CPCs worthless piece of papers..... MORE

STILL RE-EVALUATING ON REDEPLOYMENT OF SHIPS — PALACEThe
Palace remains undecided and indicated yesterday that the government
was still in the “re-evaluation” stage on the prospect of redeploying
Philippine boats in the Scarborough Shoal despite the presence of a
growing number of Chinese vessels in the area, saying that President
Aquino was “too busy” to firm up a decision.

“Not today (Wednesday).
The President has several meetings today,” said Lacierda when asked for
details on when Aquino would meet officials of the Department of Foreign
Affairs (DFA) and other relevant agencies that form part of the
re-evaluation team.

Aquino cited typhoon “Butchoy” last June 18 for
his decision to recall ships deployed in the shoal that in effect China
considered a withdrawal since it ordered its state-owned ships to stay
put on the disputed area. As of yesterday, the military counted 28
Chinese ships in the Scarborough Shoal area..... MORE

Her
Majesty, Queen Sofia of the Kingdom of Spain, is scheduled to visit
Manila and some provinces next month as an official guest of the
Philippine government.

The Queen is due to arrive in Manila on July 2
to personally inspect various development cooperation projects being
implemented with funding assistance and grants from the Spanish
government through its development cooperation agency, Agencia Española
de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarollo (AECID). “The upcoming
visit of Queen Sofia is a reaffirmation of Spain’s commitment toward
addressing the myriad developments and challenges the Philippines and
the rest of the world are facing today,” the Department of Foreign
Affairs (DFA) said.

“It is a positive reflection of the Philippines’
long-standing and special partnership with Spain, most especially in the
area of development cooperation,” it added..... MORE

Contrary
to President Aquino’s claim that businesses are rushing to invest in
the Philippines, the local unit of US auto giant Ford Motors announced
yesterday it will close its local vehicle assembly plant in the
Philippines by the end of the year, with the loss of 360 jobs, as part
of an ongoing restructuring across Asia.

The decision will leave the
country without a motor vehicle exporter, Ford Group Philippines
president Randy Krieger said in a statement.

Ford Philippines is the
first and only volume exporter of vehicles from the Philippines and has
supplied the Ford Focus, Ford Escape and Mazda3 to Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) markets that include Thailand, Indonesia
and Malaysia since 2002.

“This is a very difficult decision. The
company studied every possible scenario and opportunity, but we could
not make a strong enough business case for future manufacturing,” he
added..... MORE

The Supreme Court (SC) clarified the legal requirements for the issuance of a writ of amparo.

In
a 15-page decision by Justice Mariano del Castillo, the court en banc
dismissed for a petition for writ of amparo filed by the family of a
man who had allegedly disappeared after he was mauled for committing a
misdemeanor by the security people of a subdivision in Malolos, Bulacan.

The
court which adopted the extraordinary writ as a legal remedy in cases
of enforced disappreances and extra-legal killings pointed out that
government, real or alleged is an indispensable element for the writ to
be issued.

The tribunal’s decision reversed and set aside the July
24, 2008 decision of the Malolos City Regional Trial Court, Branch 20,
which had issued a writ of amparo and ordered the production of the body
of Benhur Pardico before the trial court..... MORE

Department
of Justice (DoJ) Secretary Leila de Lima on Wednesday defended the
action taken by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in the rescue
of an eight-year-old Myanmar national in Biñan, Laguna.

The NBI, which is the Philippines’ premier investigating body, is an attached agency of the DoJ.

According
to De Lima, the situation then was that the life and safety of the
Myanmarese boy were at stake, hence, they ordered the NBI to take the
necessary action even without a direct coordination with the
Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) of the PNP (Philippine National Police)..... MORE

Members
of the progressive bloc in the House of Representatives yesterday said
the excise tax bill approved on third and final reading by the House of
Representatives last June 6 will not benefit local tobacco producers.

“In
the name of providing more funds for the universal health coverage
program, the Department of Finance wants to pass a regressive tax
measure that will further burden local tobacco farmers and consumers
alike,” Anakpawis party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano said.

House Bill
(HB) No. 5727, as amended, seeks to establish a two-tier excise tax
system for tobacco, in which cigarette packs with a net retail price of
P11.50 or less will have an excise tax of P12 for the first year, and
P22 for the second year, translating to an increase of 341 percent and
709 percent, respectively..... MORE

Angara
said the Ecowaste Coalition proved that 13 out of 14 whitening products
sold in different parts of Manila violated the 1 part per million (ppm)
mercury limit set by the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean)
Cosmetics Directive. The products also did not label mercury as an
ingredient though they contained excessive levels of mercury from 550
ppm to 60,800 ppm.

“Despite the risks, mercury continues to be used
in medical devices in school laboratories and even ordinary consumer
products like toys, clothes, electronic gadgets, bags and drinking
bottles which can be accessed easily by schoolchildren,” he stressed..... MORE

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

It’s been blunder after blunder after blunder and lies, after lies under the Noynoy administration.

The
latest blunder and lie comes from the Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA), that said the other day that all fishing boats of China in the
Scarborough Shoal area have already gone.

It turns out that Chinese fishing boats are still there.

As
of yesterday, there were some 28 Chinese fishing and government
vessels, 23 of which are inside the shoal, according to the aerial
surveillance by the Philippine Navy.

The admiral said China has
maintained five government vessels, three Chinese maritime surveillance
vessels and two Fisheries and Law Enforcement Command vessels outside
the shoal, with 23 fishing vessels, 17 small boats and six Chinese
fishing boats still remaining inside the lagoon.

Why would the DFA be
stupid enough to claim that the Chinese vessels have already left the
shoal area when such announcements can well be checked out?.... MORE

With too many
constitutional — and non-constitutional — questions cropping up in
relation to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC)’s search of candidates
for the position of chief justice, and the kind of aspirants who have
applied for the post, everything seems to be turning out to be a big but
cruel joke being played both on the institutions and the Filipino
people.

But as the Constitution appears to be violated as a matter of course under the Noynoy presidency, what else can be expected?

The
Charter says that the country does not allow the entry of nuclear
weapons, yet there is today, a US nuclear-powered submarine complete
with Tomahawk cruise missiles and MK48 torpedoes in our waters for a
claimed five-day R and R stay.

There are many more infractions, but
returning to the list of applicants and nominees for the high judicial
post, what is clear is that too many see this process as a big joke,
which does not put the position of chief justice in a good light..... MORE

Syrian President says his country in a state of war. The UN
peacekeeping chief says the UN observer mission in the country will not
resume, as it is too dangerous for the monitors to restart their
operations at this point.

More clashes broke out in Syria on Wednesday.

The state
media reported gunmen raided the headquarters of a pro-government
Syrian TV station early in the day, demolishing the building and killing
three employees. Officials denounced what they called a rebel "massacre against the freedom of the press."....MORE

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi put the responsibility for
killing of seven TV staffers on the EU, Arab and International
organizations. He called it “the worst massacre against journalism and
the freedom of media.”

­Seven journalists and workers in the Syrian al-Ikhbaryia Satellite
Channel were killed on Wednesday morning in an attack by an armed group
targeting the headquarters of al-Ikhbaryia. The assault occurred some 20
kilometres south of the capital Damascus.

They planted explosive
devices at the headquarters of al-Ikhbaryia following their ransacking,
and destroying the Satellite Channel studios, including the newsroom..... MORESource: RT.com

By RONALYN V. OLEABulatlat.com
MANILA – Cesar Garganta, 28, merely wanted to earn extra income for
the enrolment of his two children. Instead of money, what Garganta got
was pain and trauma.

On May 28, Garganta and his two friends went to work on a farm in
Vista Hermosa village, Macalelon, Quezon. At around 9 a.m., the three
chanced upon more than a dozen men in uniform armed with high-powered
rifles. The soldiers shouted at the three farmers and Garganta’s two
companions immediately ran away, leaving Garganta behind.

“For five hours, the soldiers beat me up. They pointed their guns at
me, pointed a bolo knife on my neck. They squeezed my nose with pliers,
pricked my ears with sticks. They blindfolded me and tied me to a tree,”
Garganta said in an interview with Bulatlat.com. The soldiers
belonging to the Philippine Army’s 85th Infantry Battalion were
insisting that he and his fellow farmers were members of the New
People’s Army (NPA).

Garganta is only one of the 128 victims of harassment, torture and
other forms of human rights violations perpetrated by suspected state
agents in Quezon, according to human rights alliance Karapatan-Southern
Tagalog (Karapatan-ST). Eight battalions of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines, police and paramilitary are deployed in the 22 towns of the
province.

Farmer
Cesar Garganta recalls how the soldiers subjected him to physical and
psychological torture in a press conference, June 25. (Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)

In another town, Eduardo Dela Peña, 37, also suffered harassment from the military.
On June 22, at around 3 p.m., Dela Peña was tending to his farm at
sitio Sabang, barangay (village) Pagsangahan, San Francisco, Quezon when
nine soldiers of the 59th and 74th IB of the Philippine Army approached
him.

Speaking during the kick-off activity of the mercy mission led by the Save Bondoc Peninsula Movement,
June 25, Dela Peña said soldiers accused him of being an NPA member.
“They asked me names I do not know. Whenever I said I did not know the
persons they were asking about, they punched my stomach,” he said in the
vernacular.

The soldiers went with Dela Peña to his house. “I heard the commander
ordering his men to kill me. Not long, a soldier pointed a 45 caliber
gun at me,” he said..... MORE